It can be an eye opening experience to move out of a home you’ve lived in for years, or even replacing furniture in your home after years in the same spot. It’s often at times like this that you first notice just how faded parts of your furniture or carpet truly are. The damage done to furniture and flooring is due to the sun’s UV rays. Just like your skin being damaged by the same rays, items in your home are vulnerable. Thankfully, there are a few different options for maintaining your home and your furniture.
- Blocking UV rays
If you want to avoid getting a sunburn, you would apply sunscreen or sit in the shade, right? There are similar tactics for your furniture. To avoid fading in your home, close the blinds or curtains. That makes your home dark and dreary, however. Another option that doesn’t shut out natural light is to install new windows. Laminated windows or low-E coated coated glass, which is featured in many Perry Hood Properties homes, can block as much as 99-percent of harmful rays without blocking out light. Not only does this protect your furniture, but it also protects your family’s skin.
- Protecting rugs
Major fading problems occur on your home’s rugs when they stay in the same spot day after day. Sun from your windows will hit a rug in the same place and eventually fade those spots. But, if you periodically rearrange your room and rotate your rugs, fading can be minimized. Or, at least, fading will be more even, which makes it less noticeable. Spray-on fade protection is also available, but many question how effective those really are.
- Protecting wood flooring
Wood floors are susceptible to fading from the sun just like furniture and carpet. Often, this leads to costly repairs also. Oddly, some wood will turn darker when exposed to large amounts of sun, while others will lighten. For natural wood, your best options are either protecting the floors from UV ray exposure, or using rugs and furniture to lessen the amount of direct sunlight on your floors. Again, by periodically rearranging your furniture, you can provide some protection and keep obvious faded spots from forming.
- Protecting furniture
The key to protecting your furniture from the sun starts when you purchase it. Lighter fabrics tend to show less fading and are a good option for rooms that get a lot of direct sunlight. The same goes for many leather finishes. When buying a new piece of furniture, be sure to ask about colorfastness to avoid any surprises. If a piece of furniture is expected to fade, consider moving it to a room with less sun exposure.
When protecting your items from sun damage, your choice is to keep them out of the sun completely or to invest in windows that help keep out UV rays.
At Perry Hood Properties, we believe Low-E windows are a great investment for the home. Not only do they filter out UV rays, but they also help to lower energy costs. Browse through our currently available homes to see more of our features or call us to start construction on your dream home.